TOM MILLER, MOVIE PUBLICIST

TOM MILLER, MOVIE PUBLICIST AT WORK

You'll spot him above in the last feature movie he worked on: Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon. After this one, he worked on only one more movie, A Gathering of Old Men, for television. In this section you will find Jonathan's own recollections from Tom's many and ongoing accounts of his movie work. Any errors are his, not Tom's. For convenience, the films appear in three groups: THE EARLY YEARS: 1970-1975, THE MIDDLE YEARS: 1976-1981, THE FINAL YEARS: 1982-1985The most extensive account of Tom Miller's movie work
appears in his memoir A FEVER OF THE MAD, A MOVIE PUBLICIST WORKS WITH FRANCIS
COPPOLA, ELAINE MAY, JOHN CASSAVETES, PETER FALK, AND RICHARD GERE AND SURVIVES
TO TELL THE TALE, edited and published by Jonathan May after Tom's death, using the
name Tom Canford, which Tom used for his written works. Because that work goes into great detail about Elaine May's Mikey and Nicky and Francis Coppola's The Cotton Club, they are omitted from discussion here.A list of his credits:(Click on underlined titles to call up a link to the IMDB entry for that film)1987A Gathering of Old Men (TV movie) (unit publicist1985 The Last Dragon (unit publicist)1984 The Cotton Club (unit publicist)1984 Harry & Son (unit publicist)1983 Easy Money (unit publicist)1981 Tattoo (unit publicist)1981 So Fine (unit publicist)1981 The Chosen (unit publicist)1981 Blow Out (unit publicist)1979 Boardwalk (unit publicist)1978 Matilda (unit publicist - uncredited)1976 Mikey and Nicky (unit publicist)1975 The Happy Hooker (unit publicist)1974 Tough Guys (unit publicist - uncredited)1973 The Last American Hero (unit publicist - uncredited)1972 The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (unit publicist - uncredited)1972 The Wrath of God (unit publicist - uncredited)1971 The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (unit publicist - uncredited)1971 Shaft (unit publicist - uncredited)1970 Alex in Wonderland (unit publicist - uncredited)Further information is available on the International Movie Database:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0589450/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_22

Notes: The Tom Miller papers span the years 1963-1990 and encompass 9 linear feet. The collection includes scripts, production material, publicity material, and photographs related to Miller's work as a publicist for around three dozen films released by American International Pictures, Embassy Pictures, MGM, and others. The publicity material includes correspondence, notes, pressbook copy, and publicity releases. There is some biographical material, including drafts of his memoirs.

Biography/History: Tom Miller was an American publicist active in film during the 1960s through 1980s. After studying English and journalism in Los Angeles in the mid-1950s, he moved to New York and became a reader and researcher for the "New Yorker Magazine." Beginning in 1962, based in New York, he worked variously as a publicist, staff writer, and trade publication and wire services contact for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, American International Pictures, and Embassy Pictures. He went on to serve as unit publicist on numerous motion picture productions until his retirement in 1991.